Not enough Ambulances in Iowa

A newspaper report says 29 of Iowa’s 99 counties have no ambulance or only one capable of providing full-time, 24-hour-a-day service.

These 29 counties are home to nearly 427,000 people.

The Des Moines Register also says in its analysis of data from the Iowa Bureau of Emergency Medical Services that 14 Iowa counties have four or fewer emergency medical service agencies of any kind within their borders.

Brian Donaldson is director of Sumner Emergency Medical Services, and he says part of the problem is that emergency medical services are not required of cities and counties.

Donaldson says a 2007 study showed the relative risk of a rural victim dying in a crash is 15 times greater than in urban areas, after adjusting for other contributing factors.